IT’S not just the rugby pitch where the Maroons and Blues clash this week as Newbridge and Inglewood meet in this Saturday’s eighth round of A-grade netball in the Bendigo Bank Loddon Valley FNL.
Newbridge has home-court advantage at Deepcore Drilling Oval in Riverside Park as it takes on Inglewood from 3pm.
It’s second against third in a race led by reigning premier Mitiamo.
The Maroons and Blues both take winning form into this contest.
A Newbridge team coached by Hayley Martiniello scored a 17-goal win on Marong’s court at Jackal Oval in Malone Park last Saturday.
The Dani O’Toole-coached Inglewood dominated play on the Maiden Gully YCW Eagles’ court at Marist College Oval to win by 29 goals.
Bridgewater is on the rebound from defeat as it hosts Calivil United at Bridgewater Recreation Reserve from 3pm.
The Carly Wild and Lou Dupuy-coached Bridgewater is likely to end the day’s play back in the top three.
Calivil United played well to score a 15-goal win at home against Macorna last round.
The Annie Blow and Alex Ingram-coached Demons will be aiming to bring a high level of pressure in every quarter in Bridgewater.
Pyramid Hill is back home at Mitchell Park to play Macorna.
The Bulldogs will start favourite against the Tigers.
Latest hit-out for a Pyramid Hill-team coached by Chelsea Emmerson, Amber Dingwall, Darci Tierney ended in a 22-goal win against Bears Lagoon-Serpentine.
The Brooke Allison-coached Macorna played well to hit the 40-goal mark in the Demons’ den at Calivil last Saturday.
Neighbouring clubs Maiden Gully YCW Eagles and Marong meet at Marist College Oval in Maiden Gully from 3pm.
Big test for the Christie Griffiths-coached Eagles against an opponent on the rebound from defeat.
The Marong line-up coached by Bridget Willox and Bianca Garton starts this round in sixth place and fighting to stay in touch with the top five and a finals berth.
Unbeaten in its pursuit of a premiership hat-trick, Mitiamo is back on its court at John Forbes Oval to play Bears Lagoon-Serpentine from 3pm.
The Jen Wilson-coached Superoos skipped away for a 63-49 win against Bridgewater at Mitiamo last Saturday.
Huge challenge for a Bears line-up coached by Erin Varker to slow down the Superoos’ slick passing from defence to mid-court and into the goaling circle.
Standings in the Loddon Valley FNL A-grade netball competition:
Mitiamo 184 per cent, 28 points; Newbridge 117, 20; Inglewood 103, 20; Bridgewater 140, 16; Pyramid Hill 107, 16; Marong 102, 16; Calivil United 85, 12; Bears Lagoon-Serpentine 73, 8; Maiden Gully YCW Eagles 60, 4; Macorna 58, 0.
Loddon Valley FNL netball ladders after seven rounds:
A-reserve:
Bridgewater 211 per cent, 28 points; Marong 160, 22; Calivil United 131, 22; Newbridge 159, 20; Pyramid Hill 98, 14; Maiden Gully YCW Eagles 93, 14; Mitiamo 69, 8; Inglewood 67, 4; Macorna 48, 4; Bears Lagoon-Serpentine 33, 4.
B-grade:
Newbridge 246 per cent, 28 points; Bridgewater 154, 24; Calivil United 111, 20; Inglewood 108, 16; Maiden Gully YCW Eagles 101, 16; Marong 89, 14; Bears Lagoon-Serpentine 79, 10; Macorna 88, 8; Pyramid Hill 83, 4; Mitiamo 36, 0.
B-reserve:
Bridgewater 197 per cent, 28 points; Inglewood 125, 24; Newbridge 140, 20; Calivil United 125, 20; Marong 123, 16; Maiden Gully YCW Eagles 87, 12; Pyramid Hill 92, 8; Mitiamo 82, 8; Bears Lagoon-Serpentine 54, 4; Macorna 36, 0.
17-and-under:
Calivil United 420 per cent, 28 points; Maiden Gully YCW Eagles 220, 28; Mitiamo 118, 20; Bridgewater 123, 16; Pyramid Hill 96, 16; Marong 94, 16; Macorna 50, 8; Inglewood 39, 4; Newbridge 25, 4.
15-and-under:
Newbridge 325 per cent, 28 points; Calivil United 565, 24; Maiden Gully YCW Eagles 300, 24; Marong 252, 20; Bridgewater 107, 16; Inglewood 42, 8; Mitiamo 38, 8; Pyramid Hill 35, 4; Macorna 27, 4; Bears Lagoon-Serpentine 16, 4.
13-and-under:
Calivil United 1410 per cent, 28 points; Maiden Gully YCW Eagles 500, 28; Mitiamo 146, 20; Marong 142, 20; Newbridge 117, 16; Bridgewater 76, 12; Inglewood 64, 8; Bears Lagoon-Serpentine 20.9, 4; Pyramid Hill 20.8, 4; Macorna 9, 0.
In the football action………As the league marks Indigenous Round it’s Newbridge against Inglewood in a contest between sixth and fourth.
Newbridge has home-ground advantage at Deepcore Drilling Riverside Oval for a 2.15pm start to the big clash.
The Jayden Cordy-coached Maroons will be fired up after a 49-point loss at Marong last round.
Inglewood has fought back from a nil-three start to win four in a row.
Key players for Newbridge include Jon Coe, Jackson Eadon, Kobe Friswell, Jackson Hufer, Dylan Lloyd, Caleb Sanders, and Jed Zimmer.
The Jackson Hood-coached Inglewood has Kai Cavallaro, Bregon Cotchett, Tom Kennedy and Liam Marciano in great form.
The Blues also have Charlie Aitken, Mischa Fraillon and Daniel Polack capable of winning many contests.
Pyramid Hill is back on home turf at Mitchell Park to play Macorna.
The Jarrod Fitzpatrick-coached Pyramid Hill won last Saturday’s match at Gadsden Finance Serpentine Reserve by 68 points.
Gun forward Jhye Baddeley-Kelly is in hot form for the Bulldogs.
Pyramid Hill forwards Harrison Goodes, Mitch Dingwall and Levi Moss will test a Tigers’ defence led by Toby Whinfield, Spiros Sklavenitis, Xavier Wishart and coach Fergus Payne.
A strong on-ball group for the Bulldogs is led by ruckman Ryan McGhie as he teams with Ben Knight, James Sala and Zac Alford.
Macorna will look for big games from Matt Colak, Seb Erharter, Kieran Foley and Sam Whinfield.
At John Forbes Oval in Mitiamo the Superoos take on Bears Lagoon-Serpentine.
The Luke Lougoon-coached Mitiamo has had a tough run as it faced Pyramid Hill and Bridgewater the past two rounds.
The Superoos are against an opponent which has not won since round five.
A loss at Mitiamo would make it incredibly difficult for the Jake Wilkinson-coached Bears to qualify for finals.
Mitiamo’s team aiming to outrun the Bears includes Brayden Baines, Jacob Cassells, Ryan Duncan, Kobe Galvin, Joey Mizzi, and Jye Rasmussen.
Best for the Bears against Pyramid Hill were Andy Gladman, Tyler Miles, Nathan Twigg and Callum Draper.
The BLS squad includes Charlie Gadsden, Joseph Ketterer, Miggy Podosky, Tanner Rayner, and Nathan Twigg.
Bridgewater hosts Calivil United at Bridgewater Recreation Reserve.
The second-placed Bridgewater will start favourite.
The Mean Machine rolled to a 12-goal win at Mitiamo last Saturday.
Best in the win on the Superoos’ ground were Tyson Taylor, Jacob and Luke Ellings, and Harry Conway.
A Bridgewater squad coached by brilliant forward Lachie Sharp includes Tom Broadbent, Jack Merrin, James and Nic Naughton, and Darcy Wood.
Massive challenge for the Sam Maher-coached Calivil United.
The Demons worked hard in a 57-76 loss at home against Macorna.
Best for Calivil United against the Tigers were Tyler Rasmussen, Cody Thompson, Zac Tickell and Kade Blow.
The Demons line-up bound for Bridgewater includes Sam Green, Jack Maher, Tommi Raukola, and Riley Walsh.
Maiden Gully YCW Eagles face Marong at the Maiden Gully-based Marist College Oval.
The Shawn Filo and Angus Monfries-coached Eagles will be aiming to bring a high level of pressure from quarter one until the last.
Key match-ups for Maiden Gully YCW include Tahlan Brook at full-back against Shaun Knott, Tye Bedford opposed to Nathan Devanny in the centre, and ruckman Daniel Russell opposed to Michael Bradbury.
The Eagles will look to Todd Delahey, Mitch Whitham and Josh Worsley in attack, and Ed Crisp, Mitch Hill and Grayson Brown in defence.
The James Flaherty-coached Marong struck back from a 47-point loss to Pyramid Hill in the Michael Herrick Memorial to defeat Bridgewater, Macorna and Newbridge the past three rounds.
On-ballers David Johnstone and Jimmy Gadsden are superb at centre clearances and stoppages for the Panthers.
Marong also has Noah McCaig, Matt Willox, Max Balcke and Max Lowery capable of having a big impact on this contest.
Loddon Valley FNL senior footy ladder:
Pyramid Hill 181 per cent, 24 points; Bridgewater 174, 24; Marong 172, 24; Inglewood 125, 16; Macorna 102, 16; Newbridge 94, 16; Maiden Gully YCW Eagles 85, 8; Bears Lagoon-Serpentine 80, 8; Calivil United 42, 4; Mitiamo 48, 0.
Leaders in the goalkicking race:
43 Jhye Baddeley-Kelly, PH.
36 Lachie Sharp, B.
25 Dimitri Fasoulis, Mac.
23 Cooper Hale, Mar.
16 Oscar McKinley, B; Farran Priest, BLS; Caleb Sanders, New.
14 Brandon Dimech, New.
13 Zach Alford, PH.
12 Bregon Cotchett, I; Seb Erharter, Mac.; Mischa Fraillon, I; Tyler James, MGYCW; Brad Matthews, Mar.; Noah McCaig, Mar.